Pakistan puts head of militant charity under house arrest

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan has placed the leader of a charity linked to a militant group under house arrest.

Hafiz Saeed, whose Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was placed under house arrest along with four aides.

Azam Suleman, the top security official in the eastern Punjab province, ordered them detained for 90 days after the government vowed to act against the charity and an affiliate known as the Falah Insaniat Foundation.

Saeed is wanted by the U.S. government, which has offered a $10 million reward.

Pakistan has long tolerated Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Islamic militant groups, viewing them as allies against its archrival India.

The U.N. Security Council labeled the charity a terrorist front group in 2008.